The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episodes 1 & 2 - Ties That Bind Reviews
I'll admit that my interest in Telltale's well-worn adventure formula was starting to wane, but The Walking Dead: A New Frontier's opening episodes are proof positive that there's still plenty of life in it, as Ties That Bind Part 1 and 2 are both barnstorming episodes. Essential for any self-respecting The Walking Dead fan, regardless of whether you played seasons one and two in Telltale's series.
A worthy flagbearer.
Despite numerous success stories from Telltale over the past few years, the studio seems rather content with sticking with The Walking Dead’s roots in its newest season, with no new gameplay mechanics or story themes being introduced.
An interesting fresh start for The Walking Dead, but it all feels a bit too familiar.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier opens up with two strong episodes that have me the most invested I've been in The Walking Dead since the first release. Hopefully fleshing out the characters a little more can push this season to be even more memorable.
If you were a fan of the previous two seasons and enjoyed playing as Clementine then you may be slightly disappointed as she is not the main playable character, at least not in this episode. But if you are open to a new story, characters and a fresh take to the series then you should give this a go. New players to the series will also enjoy it as long as you are aware that it is more story driven and your choices will not have a huge effect on the outcome of the episode (so far).
Two episodes in, and A New Frontier has already established itself as an important new story that expands and enriches Telltale’s interpretation of The Walking Dead universe.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is starting to climb my list of favourites from Telltale games, and for fans of this genre I would definitely recommend it. There are a few fantastic “oh crap did that just happen?” moments which I wasn’t expecting and I am eager to find out what happens next. Although it is a little frustrating not knowing the release date of the next episode.
These two short episodes (about three hours for both) did keep me invested and reminded me that Telltale can spin a good story.
What you are getting with A New Frontier is more of the same, which I imagine just about everyone with a remote interest in the game is expecting. Season 3 isn’t re-writing the book on narratively-driven adventures; it’s just delivering some of the best you can find in the genre.
The Ties That Bind Parts One and Two are the best episodes in the series to date. Whether you’re a returning fan or brand new to The Walking Dead: The Telltale series, I highly recommend that you play this game today!
A strong opener and weaker follow-up chapter, but the third season is certainly heading in the right direction, narratively at least.
Telltale has definitely gotten so comfortable that their latest zombie game lacks any teeth.
Telltale has definitely gotten so comfortable that their latest zombie game lacks any teeth.
However despite all that, I would like to say that the above stated cons can easily be overlooked by those after a rollicking zombie tale. This game actually forced me to pick up Season 1 and get to know The Walking Dead series again. Rest assured, A New Frontier is a brilliant game and continues the never-ending Walker drama, certainly providing enough intrigue to keep me avidly looking out for episode three.
With so many disappointments in recent Telltale titles, it's fantastic to see the team recreate the magic of Clementine's earlier stories in A New Frontier. It manages to introduce a great cast of likeable characters that have their own tale to tell, while also expanding Clementine's saga. This feels like a return to the form of the glory days of the first season of The Walking Dead, or even The Wolf Among Us, so here's hoping the team can keep the quality up for the rest of the series.
Ties That Bind Part II is a step up from the first episode in terms of writing quality, but the decision to actually split what is effectively the opening of the season into two feels thoughtless and, ultimately, pointless. There's nothing to be gained from dividing Ties That Bind in half, except for saving Telltale the effort of creating five complete chapters. It's a genuine shame, too, because when Part II is good, it's reminiscent of Telltale at its best. The episode isn't without other faults, as Telltale once again relies on pre-established characters that kill any sense of tension, but there's enough promise and potential to warrant A New Frontier not being written off quite yet.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 2: The Ties That Bind II keeps the course, delivering another quality storytelling experience with aplomb. Javi's story is a compelling one and fans can't help but clamour for closure and answers for what happened to Clem… and what happened to AJ. Plenty of pieces are in motion and this is building to be a very special story. If only Telltale could get this quality over to its other recent titles...
Thus far, the first two episodes of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier set up the intrigue. Javi is a decent character for the player to control, and Clementine is much more complicated than before due to her experiences. The story beats seem to replay some of the events of the TV series and comic, although with different characters and locations, but the ending of the second episode is enough to capture the attention of those who may already be tired of the franchise general. With only three more episodes to go, it'll be interesting to see if Telltale can keep the momentum going.
Ties That Bind is a fantastic introduction to The Walking Dead: A New Frontier. The story is incredibly well created, still managing to feel fresh despite the amount of baggage its carrying from two previous seasons of diverging narrative.